Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to launch a nutrition skills training programme for community workers, including those from health, social care and third sector organisations, similar to the Nutrition Skills for Life programme by NHS Wales.

The United Kingdom Government is represented on Health Education England’s steering group to develop a competency framework for healthier weight. Health Education England’s Healthier Weight framework aims to describe the competencies that health and care staff working in any setting need to equip them to fulfil their role to promote a healthier weight. The Healthier Weight framework is attached.

The emphasis for this framework to help prevention of excess weight gain and can be applied across all groups of health and care staff working in any setting including frontline staff, managers, commissioners and leaders and relevant to charities that provide services around healthier weight. It may be used in other settings such as individual’s homes, care homes, nurseries, children’s centres, schools, colleges and workplaces and with any community or any group within the population.